Busy busy busy bees!!

We have had some busy days over the last week, culminating in the Christmas tree being put up on Sunday!!
We don't have lights on yet... we lost the transformer for our lights, so have ordered some bargain ones online, so by this next weekend, I am hoping it will be done!
Here are some of my favourite decorations...
I might have done this before at some point, but i just LOVE them so much!
We got them at a Christmas Tree Shop in New Hampshire one year in the USA, so my tree makes me think of America every time the decorations go up!!

 this will be our first Christmas in 11 years without our old boy. He is still with us in spirit!

 Let it snow? HA! It'll be summer here, and we will be ROASTING HOT!!! We will wish it would snow~

See, some cute ones, right?? We have moose ones and all sorts... Paul let me go crazy (to an extent), because he knows how much I love Christmas!!

Jasper has done his Christmas cards for his class (without too much fuss), ready to give out at school tomorrow... they only have 2 weeks left, thank goodness!!!
Here he is sitting on the coffee table, writing his cards!

He will have a desk - at some point - before Christmas... I don't normally make him do school work sitting on the coffee table!!
I went shopping for a desk today, and after much disappointment, I found the almost perfect one!!!
and the best bit... it's only $88!!!

nice, right? (laptop is not included!!). They didn't have stock, so we got a chair, and ordered the desk.. She said they will have it in about 2 days! I am a bit excited. It will finish off the games room area... all excpet the painting...
Paul put a tv up on the wall for the Wii (and any other gaming console Santa may be delivering), the kids toys and now a desk!!
Need something to sit on, I hear you say?? Here's something we prepared earlier (like on Saturday...)

two little zombies watching some cartoon before bed time.. is it just me, or do they look totally exhausted?!?! MAYBE because of some afternoon exhaustion play we prepared... (when I say WE, please read PAUL)..

When Jasper was about Molly's age, we had a tennis ball on a string hung up out the back that he would hit and hit and hit. It would fly around and smack him back! It caused much delight, and it's fair share of tears..
We decided to do the same for Molly, but with a lighter ball..
here is what my McGuyver designed..
It's a wiffle ball, and a bat Jasper has had for a few years.. It is hollow and light weight.

 this is the stick that Jasper used to use... it is over 6 years old (we never throw things out.) (again, when I say "WE", I mean PAUL!!).
It is a bit dog chewed, but still works a treat!

The kids had a blast!
I think we have another ball hitting monster on our hands!!!

I will post again when I have the Christmas tree lights on, and have a shot of the kids with it - oh, side note, Molly actually "high-5"ed Sants today... shock!! It was awesome!

No medical news... still waiting for an appointment at the ophthalmology clinic at the hospital... sigh!

thanks for reading.

Brooke

The Curse of Santa

We have a strange love/terrified relationship with Santa happening this year with Molly.

Jasper has LOVED Santa from the get go. Like, L.O.V.E.D.

Sometimes I wonder if I need to be concerned that my kid has a real affection for a strange man who has a big beard, red clothes, and asks you to sit on his lap (then gives you candy....)

Last year, Molly just cried and cried when we saw Santa. It was kinda cute.

She doesn't cry all that much, but Santa terrified her to the point of hysteria!
This year, we are progressing. Slowly. Very slowly.

Jasper has already been to sit on the jolly mans lap and reel off his list, while Molly stood in the shopping cart and stared suspiciously...

Today, she ran from one end of the shopping centre to where the Santa chair was, calling out "Santa, Santa, Santa" the whole way.
Then we got there, and she freezes.

Total ice block.

I said "say hello to Santa". She says "no" without ever taking her eyes from his suspicious face...

We stand there for a few minutes, her the great immovable object, and me gently coaxing...

Then I give up. I say "tell Santa bye-bye". She waves, yells "bye-bye" and is outta there!!!

Only 15 minutes later, she is asking "where's Santa?".

We go back past and this time, she is in the shopping cart, and I wheel her right up. She is NOT happy!!

No tears, but total horror!!!
At least she can't run when she is in the cart!

We are just taking baby steps, and maybe by Christmas, she will be able to sit for a photo... But I'm not holding my breath!!

Jasper puts the list for both of them forward (but it is suspiciously Jasper heavy, and not much requested for Molly...).

Photos next time.. Probably not of Santa, but I will see how she goes!!

Thanks for reading.

Brooke

Friday Frivolities and Mummy Strikes Again

Is there any better way to spend a Friday afternoon?

Well, ok, a glass of wine would be a nice touch, and GUESS WHAT?? The photographer had one of those!

The kids were outside playing crazy on the trampoline, and I was out surveying the veggie patch.. Paul came out to have a look-see, and lifted the lid on the spa to let it get some air..

It looked SOOOO GOOD in there! next thing, I was getting the kids swimmers ready, Paul had jumped in, and the kids were hankering at the side of the spa to get in.. well, Molly was hankering and being impatient about having to get clothes off and swimmers on. Jasper decided I had the wrong swimmers for him, and went and got some other ones, and the festivities began!

I was going to get in too, but the wind was cold, and I knew that if I got in, I wasn't going to get out! Plus, getting Molly dressed for bed (as it was super close to bed time) while dripping wet is not an inviting proposition.

AND the wine was too delicious!

There was a bubble blowing lesson being conducted.. Look at the effort and strain Paul is showing - such a great teacher!

 Good teachers get all the smooches!

 Silly teachers (aka jasper) get the giggles and cheeks to smooch on!

So, Jasper had his optometry appointment today, just at a local optomotrist. His teacher said another teacher had noticed he favours his left eye over his right when reading, so this is where I started with getting it looked at.

The optician looked with a funky expensive machine, and it seems Jasper is long sighted.

The optician described it like this "if you are reading a book (or this blog post), your eye muscles are working at a 2.5 (for example), when Jasper is reading the same thing, his muscles are working at a 5 or more. His eyes will get fatigued really easily and it will be impacting his learning." LIGHTBULBS anyone??

He gave me a referral to an opthomologist at our hospital, and I will email that through to our haematologist and hopefully get some answers - and a quick appointment!!

The optometrist today said that Jasper will need glasses.

Jasper has been saying on and off that his eyes are fuzzy, but that always coincides with someone in his class getting glasses or having some eye issue, so I have disregarded his comments, thinking he wants to copycat... OOPS. Bad momma!

If this other teacher had not said something, I would not have really bothered with getting his eyes tested... I do feel bad, and need to take what he says more seriously... but then I hear about every papercut!

I guess we both need to learn what to share and listen to!

Ok, I am off to bed, 9pm on a Friday night... what a party animal!!!

thank for reading.

Brooke

As I know more about the eye situation, I will post it.

What Does Sick Look Like?

Well, in our house, we have 2 sick kids at the moment.

Jasper is still sniffling up a storm, and now has developed a sore ear, scabby blisters on his nose, and a temperature. He is just exhausted and miserable.
Funnily enough, I don't have a photo of what sick looks like when you are Jasper, because HE IS AT SCHOOL. Did you get that?
I told him to stay home today and rest, but he pitched a fit, and since his temp came down without more medication, I let him go.
What 8 year old boy would prefer to be at school than have the day at home??? I must be about the worst un-fun mum going!!
Well, that, and they had an excursion today (that would be boring as bat shit, but, I guess to an 8 year old kid, it's as exciting as Christmas!).

Sick, when you are Molly, looks like this...

I know, right??

Well, on Saturday she got a rash all over her torso, and face. She was also sleeping miserably, and waking up upset - which is not like her at all!
I had her to the doctors on Monday morning, and she tells me it looks like viral tonsilitis, so Nurofen (ibuprofen) and lots of liquids (because my eating machine is off her food).
I also needed to get a pee sample to rule out a UTI.
That in itself was a comedy of errors and epic failures!!! We managed to get a few drops, so I hope it's enough. We are back to the doctors for Molly on Thursday for a checkup.

As for my little man, we will just monitor. I emailed his heamatologist, and she said to give the over-the-counter meds a bit of time to see what happens. The blisters on his nose, the pharmacist tells me are from the nose drops drying out the nose so much that the tissues when he has been blowing have scratched and irritated. I would post a photo of them, but he wont let me take a snap, and it is pretty yuck.. just scabby on the nostril.. ew. hope you aren't trying to eat!!

Poor kid. I get so worried about him when he is sick, now I have 2 of them AT THE SAMER TIME!!!! Kids! Gotta love them!!

Ok, thanks for reading.

Brooke

Saturday Shenanagins

Well, I knew today would be busy... AND FUN!!

Maybe the first part wasn't exactly "fun", but it was us all together, as it should be.

Our boy, Eric, came home yesterday.. Or to be more exact, his ashes. Jasper was really happy to have his boy home. So was I.
So, this morning, Paul and Jasper dug in the back garden, while Molly climbed on the slide, and I watched.
Eric's father, Mitch, is buried in the same spot, so we wanted them together.

They now rest side by side, and it's easy for Jasper to go and sit there and talk to Eric if he ever feels the need.

After all that, it was tee ball time. Jaspers team has the tough and scary name of Embroid Me. The teams in the Under 9's are named after their sponsor..
Jasper played a rocking game, and was awarded best player by his team. He got a free sausage sizzle and a trophy for the week!
A great way to end the morning.

a girl and her poppie... is there any sweeter sight?

 Dusty and  happy after sliding into home plate for the 3rd time.

After Molly had her nap time and we had all had lunch, we headed down to my folks place. My two nieces and one nephew were there for afternoon tea. Since I have not seen them in about a year, it was lovely to catch up with them.
Jasper misses his cousins desperately, and Molly doesn't really know them at all, so it was nice watching them all know each other again.

Oh, and we planted our veggie patch last weekend.. things are looking SWEET!
The beetroot seeds are sprouting...

(there are purple and green worms there, I promise)

The corn seeds have sprouted!

The snow peas, tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce are also looking good... it is only the basil seeds I am waiting to sprout.

I have been asked by Jasper's school to get his eyes tested. He has also been sniffing a LOT lately, and our GP said it was just from an allergic reaction, so said drops and antihistemines for a while... today he woke up with blisters over his left nostril.
I am not too concerned, but have emailed his haematologist for a referral for his eyes, and also for advice on the snozzer!!
thanks for reading, will update again SOOOON!!

Brooke

November... already??

Ok, so aside from changing the blog address, there is not much more to report.

I decided to change the address from JASPERMILES.BLOGSPOT.COM to JASPERANDMOLLY.BLOGSPOT.COM , so I can tell both their stories, not just medical stuff for Jasper. That can tend to get a little lonely!

I will start with the exciting news... Yesterday I got a phone call from a magazine who is already doing an article on Jasper and FA.. I will tell more when we are published.. The lady on the phone said they wanted to nominate Jasper for an award as a Young Braveheart for 2011. It is very exciting. Just him being nominated is a huge thing. If he wins, we get to travel to Sydney for an award presentation and he gets some awesome prizes!
It would be fantastic awareness of FA in the community too!! More news to follow as it comes to hand.

Now onto the sad news.. We had to get our dog put down last Thursday. We have had him longer than we have had kids.. he was 11 years old, and his name is Eric.

The vet was 95% sure he had lymphatic cancer. He was almost totally blind, and had glaucoma in one eye.. The pain from the glaucoma was enough to decide to put him down, and it wasn't easy.
He was Jasper's best mate, and he was pretty devestated about it.
We had talked about the possibility of losing Eric for a while, but trust me, it doesn't make it any easier.
He was a pretty cruisy dog. Black, and gorgeous. He was my first baby, and my heart is heavy with his loss.
There is no boy sleeping at my back door.
There are a lot of holes.

I think Jasper feels it more than I do. Mainly on the weekends, when he is outside a lot more, and his mate is not there. It will get easier. I know it will.
Eric was Jaspers number one fan from day dot. With Molly, he took longer to warm to her, and it was only in the last few months he would not want to be outside when she was awake inside!

Lastly for this post, Molly had her 18 month immunisations today. She was a trooper and no ill effects - so far..just general crankiness which is not her usual style.

More soon

thanks for reading.

 Brooke